Chapter 1: Introduction

Physics The most basic of all sciences! Physics: The “Parent” of all sciences! Physics: The study of the behavior and the structure of matter and energy and of the interaction between matter and energy.

The Purpose of Physics What does the word physics mean? A connection with natural philosophy. Organized around a collection of natural laws Tries to predict how “the world works.” Tries to understand why “the world works the way it does.”

What is Physics? Physics is the science of matter and energy, and the interactions between them –Matter & energy are fundamental to all areas of science. –Physics is a foundational subject –Principles of physics form the basis of understanding other sciences. –Allows us to understand things from very large to very small. The study of the natural or material world and phenomena –Meaning of physics from the Greek for nature Natural philosophy –Oldest science –Historically, all scientists were physicists.

Studying Physics The goal is to predict & understand how the universe works Organized around physical laws –What do the laws say? –How can we apply the laws to new situations? Mathematics –The laws are generally expressed mathematically

Isaac Newton Mechanics is the main physics area studied in this course. The Laws of Mechanics were developed by Sir Isaac Newton His Laws of Motion –Apply to a wide variety of objects

The Sub Areas of Physics This course (1403, Physics of 16 th & 17 th Centuries): –Motion (MECHANICS) (most of our time!) –Fluids & Waves Next course (1404, Physics of 18 th & 19 th Centuries): –Electricity & magnetism –Light & optics Advanced courses (Physics of the 20 th Century!): –Relativity, atomic structure, condensed matter, nuclear physics, …. These are the most interesting & the most relevant to modern technology!

Mechanics: “Classical” Mechanics

“Classical” Physics: “Classical”   Before the 20 th Century The foundation of pure & applied macroscopic physics & engineering! Newton’s Laws + Boltzmann’s Statistical Mechanics (+ Thermodynamics) + Maxwell’s Electromagnetism:  Describe most of macroscopic world! Mechanics: “Classical” Mechanics

But, For objects at high speeds (v ~ c) we need Special Relativity: (Early 20 th Century: 1905) For objects with small sizes (atomic & smaller) we need Quantum Mechanics: (1900 through ~ 1930) Our focus will be on “Classical” Mechanics: (17th & 18th Centuries) Still useful today!

“Classical” Mechanics So, we will work exclusively in the gray region in the figure. The physics in this course will be limited to macroscopic objects moving at speeds v much, much smaller than the speed of light c = 3  10 8 m/s. As long as v << c, our discussion will be valid.

“Mechanics” The science of HOW objects move (behave) under given forces. (Usually) Does not deal with the sources of forces. Answers the question: “Given the forces, how do objects move”?

Physics: General Discussion The Goal of Physics (& all of science) is to quantitatively & qualitatively describe the “world around us”. Physics IS NOT merely a collection of facts and formulas! Physics IS a creative activity! Physics  Observation  Explanation. Requires Research & IMAGINATION!!

Physics & Its Relation to Other Fields The “Parent” of all Sciences! The foundation for & connected to ALL branches of science & engineering. Also useful in everyday life & in MANY professions –Chemistry –Life Sciences (Medicine also!!) –Architecture –Engineering –Various technological fields

Physics Principles are used in many practical applications, including construction. Communication between Architects & Engineers is essential to avoid disaster!!!

Physics is an EXPERIMENTAL science! Experiments & Observations: –Important first steps toward scientific theory. –It requires imagination to tell what is important. Theories: –Created to explain experiments & observations. Will also make predictions Experiments & Observations: –Will tell if predictions are accurate. No theory can be absolutely verified –But a theory CAN be proven false!!! The Nature of Science

Theory A Quantitative (Mathematical) Description of experimental observations. Not just WHAT is observed but WHY it’s observed as it is & HOW it works the way it does. Tests of Theories: Experimental observations: More experiments, more observations. Predictions: Made before observations & experiments.

Model, Theory, Law Model : Analogy of a physical phenomenon to something we are familiar with. Theory: More detailed than a model. Puts the model into mathematical language. Law: A concise & general statement about how nature behaves. Must be verified by many, many experiments! Only a few laws. Not comparable to laws of government!

How does a new theory get accepted? It’s Predictions: Agree better with data than those of an old theory It Explains: A greater range of phenomena than the old theory Example Aristotle: Believed that objects would return to rest once put in motion. Galileo: Realized that an object put in motion would stay in motion until some force stopped it. Newton: Developed his Laws of Motion to put Galileo’s observations into mathematical language.

No measurement is exact; there is always some uncertainty due to limited instrument accuracy & difficulty reading the results. The photograph to the left illustrates this – it would be difficult to measure the width of this 2  4 to better than a millimeter. Measurement & Uncertainty; Significant Figures

Measurement & Uncertainty Physics is an EXPERIMENTAL science! –It finds relations between physical quantities. –It expresses those relations in the language of mathematics. (LAWS & THEORIES) Experiments are NEVER 100% accurate. There is always an uncertainty in the final result. This is known as experimental error. It is common to state this precision (when it is known).

Consider a simple measurement of the width of a board. Find 23.2 cm. However, measurement is only accurate to 0.1 cm (estimated).  We write the width as (23.2  0.1) cm  0.1 cm  Experimental uncertainty Percent Uncertainty:  (0.1/23.2)  100   0.4%

Significant Figures (“sig figs”)  The number the number of reliably known digits in a number. Its usually possible to tell the number of significant figures by how the number is written: cm has 4 significant figures cm has 2 significant figures (initial zeroes don’t count) 80 km is ambiguous: It could have 1 or 2 significant figures. If it has 3, it should be written 80.0 km Significant Figures

Multiplying or dividing numbers: The number of sig figs in the result  the same number of sig figs as the number used in the calculation with the fewest sig figs. Adding or subtracting numbers: The answer is no more accurate than the least accurate number used. Sig Figs in Calculations With Numbers

Example (Not to scale!) Area of a board: dimensions 11.3 cm  6.8 cm Area = (11.3)  (6.8) = cm has 3 sig figs, 6.8 has 2 sig figs has too many sig figs! The proper number of sig figs in the answer = 2 So, round off & keep only 2 sig figs A reliable answer for the area = 77 cm 2

Sig Figs General Rule: The final result of multiplication or division should have only as many sig figs as the number with least sig figs in the calculation. NOTE!!!! All digits on your calculator are NOT significant!!

Calculators will not give you the right number of sig figs; they usually give too many, but sometimes give too few (especially if there are trailing zeroes after a decimal point). The top calculator shows the result of 2.0 / 3.0 The bottom calculator shows the result of 2.5  3.2.

Conceptual Example: Significant Figures Using a protractor, you measure an angle of 30°. (a) How many significant figures should you quote in this measurement? (b) Use a calculator to find the cosine of the angle you measured. (a) Precision ~ 1° (not 0.1°). So 2 sig figs & angle is 30° (not 30.0°). (b) Calculator: cos(30°) = But angle precision is 2 sig figs so answer should also be 2 sig figs. So cos(30°) = 0.87

Powers of 10 (Scientific Notation) READ Appendix B.3 It is common to express very large or very small numbers using powers of 10 notation. Examples 39,600 = 3.96  10 4 (moved the decimal 4 places to the left) = 2.1  (moved the decimal 3 places to the right) PLEASE USE SCIENTIFIC NOTATION!!

USE SCIENTIFIC NOTATION!! This is more than a request!! I’m making it a requirement!! I want to see powers of 10 notation on exams!! For large numbers, like 39,600, I want to see 3.96  10 4 & NOT 39,600!! For small numbers, like , I want to see 2.1  & NOT !! On the exams, you will lose points if you don’t do this!!

Accuracy vs. Precision Accuracy is how close a measurement comes to the accepted (true) value. Precision is the repeatability of the measurement using the same instrument & getting the same result! It is possible to be accurate without being precise and to be precise without being accurate!